The Thomas Schinabeck Quintet at An die Musik

[Photo credit: Efrain Ribeiro]

When the Thomas Schinabeck Quintet mounted the stage at An die Musik on January 26, 2025, they took the audience on a thrilling journey into new musical terrain. Schinabeck, an award-winning alto saxophonist, flutist, and composer, hails from Cleveland, Ohio, and I could hear the traces of his Midwestern twang when he spoke from the stage. But there was nothing folksy about his music – and although his bio states that his music “is rooted in the tradition of Black American Music,” it’s a long, long way from “Take the ‘A’ Train.” His bio also states that he is influenced by “music from around the world, as well as the sounds of everyday life,” and this I could certainly hear. Schinabeck is currently studying with Tim Green at the Peabody Institute.

His band members included four young players who have gained strong reputations in the Baltimore jazz community: Charlie Reichert Powell and Ethan Bailey-Gould on guitars; Adrian Taylor on bass, and Koleby Royston on drums. While Schinabeck was decidedly the star of the show, the band members impressively brought Schinabeck’s originals to life by weaving their individual sounds into a many-layered tapestry, blending them into a richly flavored brew.

The tunes mostly followed a similar dynamic arc, often beginning quietly and calmly with the bass or guitar, then gradually, led by the saxophone, rising to a greater pitch of intensity, punctuated by solo segments featuring one or the other of the guitars, and finally winding down to a serene landing. And yet each tune had its own particular mood and rhythmic variation. 

“Earth,” rhythmically loose and irregular in timing, was full of the sounds of a forest—birds twittering and calling, small animals skittering through the underbrush. Even in the moments when it rose to a fevered pitch, there was a certain sweetness, even romantic quality to this composition,

Then “Trials” opened with a scorching tempo, evoking the chaotic hubbub of a busy metropolis, anxious and driven, running in circles. A repetitive, almost mechanical rhythm on Powell’s guitar, undergirded by drums playing rims and bass, aroused images of human beings caught in some inexorable and inescapable system driving them beyond endurance.

“My Path” opened with pensive octaves on the guitar before the sax came in to pursue a melodic line of melancholy questioning and perplexity, gradually becoming more assertive, as if saying, “My path is not an easy one, but it’s mine!” The guitar and sax wove together a duet of increasing intensity before coming to a peaceful landing.

The last two tunes, “Centripetal Force” and “Water,” recent compositions by Schinabeck, followed the same dynamic arc. The last tune, “Water,” featured a stirring drum solo by Royston. As the concert ended, Schinabeck thanked the audience again and wished us a “great night.” Well, it was certainly a great night of very exciting original music played by a stellar ensemble.   

–Liz Fixsen

Liz Fixsen is a jazz enthusiast, jazz pianist and vocalist, member of the board of the Baltimore Jazz Alliance, editor of the newsletter and frequent contributor to the newsletter.